Life is a search according to many philosophers and poets, but it has become a web-search today. Fast credit repair companies are raking in millions by providing non-refundable fees that contradict the legitimacy of the process. Effective credit repair is a process involving time and expertise. Countless consumers either fell victim to “great credit in a minute” schemes or purchased a “kit” with the wrong blueprints for success and are now feeling the pain and suffering from the fallout. Many customers who expected to be a lender’s dream in just a matter of days are now faced with the nightmare of a damaged credit file and a score sometimes lower than when they signed up for that magic cure. Newsflash – the man behind the curtain, is almost always up to no good.
Shopping for a private student loan, comparing the pros and cons of different lenders, and submitting multiple applications so you can accept the loan with the best terms is generally a good idea. Hard inquiries usually only have a small impact on credit scores, and scores often return to their pre-inquiry level within a few months, as long as no new negative information winds up on your credit reports.
You cannot pay down your debt on your own and you continue falling further and further behind. “It makes sense to file bankruptcy when you can no longer keep up with your bills,” said Leslie H. Tayne, a debt resolution attorney and founder of Tayne Law Group, based in Melville, N.Y. “If commercial creditors are breathing down your neck or if you are in danger of losing your home, it may then make sense to file bankruptcy.”

Our last tip for fast credit repair that we are going to talk about is about removing any financial dependencies with individuals with poor credit. If you are currently tied by a car loan, mortgage, credit card, or any other line of credit with an individual that has poor credit, this can most certainly impact your credit score. On top of this, if you are planning on co-signing or being a guarantor for an individual, both will impair your credit score as well. It has been proven by financial experts and gurus that, through cutting any bad financial connections with other people, it can be one of the fastest ways of credit repair. We do advise to make this decision carefully as it can easily cause turmoil between two people.

A key indicator of your financial fitness, your debt-to-income ratio allows financial institutions to weigh your current debt against your income. This helps lenders determine your ability to keep up with new loan payments. Your debt-to-income ratio is calculated by dividing the total sum of all your monthly obligations by your gross monthly income. According to guidelines set by Wells Fargo, a good debt-to-income ratio is 35% or less, a decent one falls into the 36% to 49% range and one that needs improvement is 50% or higher.
In a competitive market, credit card companies are always trying to lure customers with their frequent flyer miles and cash back offers. Even if you have found a new-and-improved credit line, keep your oldest account active and in good standing. While new credit is important, credit history has a larger impact on your score. Use your old card for occasional purchases to keep things balanced. It could help boost your score with little effort.
If you are working with a credit counselor and think you’ll miss a payment, they can take proactive steps to mitigate consequences and create a plan to get you back on track. They can even negotiate to have additional late payments or late fees reduced or waived if you miss a payment. The key to making this work is being completely open and honest about your situation and speaking with your credit counselor as soon as you realize your payment will be late.
Remember, there are lots of reasons why your credit may be in rough shape. Most are related to your spending habits. So, for instance, if you missed a few payments or your debt levels are too high (think over 30% of your total available credit limits), disputing errors won’t help your case — you’ll have to make some changes to improve your credit scores. And you may have to wait a bit to see an uptick.

2. First Premier – The bank claims to want to offer people a second chance when it comes to their finances, but its fee structure and fine print prove the exact opposite. First Premier charges you a $95 processing fee just to apply for a credit card. Then it levies a $75 annual fee on the credit cards and most cards only come with a $300 limit. You’re paying $170 for a $300 credit line! The APR is a painful 36%. In year two the annual fee reduces to $45, but then you’re charged a monthly servicing fee of $6.25. And to top it all off, you’ll be charged a 25% fee if your credit limit is increased. Stay away from this card! Use the $170 it would take to open the card and get a secured card instead.

If your average monthly income for the six-month period leading up to your bankruptcy filing is less than the median income for the same-size household in your state, you automatically qualify. If your income is above the median, you must pass an additional means test that compares your income to specific monthly expenses to prove you have little to no disposable income.

When the bureaus and data furnishers receive the dispute and supporting information, they will then work with the credit repair company to determine if the item should be removed from your credit report. The major law dictating your rights when it comes to credit reporting is the Fair Credit Reporting Act, but it isn’t the only law on your side when it comes to credit repair.

Some lenders might be open to renegotiating terms with you to reduce interest rates, create payment plans that get you caught up, remove fees and maybe even forgive portions of balances. Just remember that if this happens, you may have tax consequences since forgiven and canceled debts may be taxable. Additionally, according to Albaugh, sometimes settling with creditors on your own requires a lump-sum payment, whereas bankruptcy allows for installment payments on a lowered amount.

The intro 0% for 12 months offer is only for their Visa® Signature Credit Card – other cards have a higher intro rate. After the intro period ends, 11.50%-17.50% Fixed APR applies. The Purdue Federal Credit Union doesn’t have open membership, but one way to be eligible for credit union membership is to join the Purdue University Alumni Association as a Friend of the University.

In more cases than not, debt consolidation loans don't make sense. They're certainly attractive: the lure of being able to pay off all of your credit cards is a strong one, especially in exchange for a single monthly payment to your bank or credit union at a lower interest rate. It's definitely a tantalizing opportunity, but it's not perfect. Remember, debt consolidation loans are financial products, which means financial institutions wouldn't offer them to you if they didn't make money from them. Here are a few tips to make sure you're not falling into a trap:
So, the first thing you should do is assess the damage by looking at a current credit report issued from one (or all) of the three major credit bureaus. Under the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act, every American has the legal right to receive one free report from each one of the companies per year, which will save you some money on processing fees. You can get access to each one at the site annualcreditreport.com.
If you pay a charge-off in full, your credit report will be updated to show the account balance is $0 and the account is paid. The charge-off status will continue to be reported for seven years from the date of charge off. Another option is to settle charge-offs for less than the original balance if the creditor agrees to accept a settlement and cancel the rest of the debt.
Rates can vary depending on where you live: The rate that is advertised on LendKey is the lowest possible rate among all of its lenders, and some of these lenders are only available to residents of specific areas. So even if you have an excellent credit report, there is still a possibility that you will not receive the lowest rate, depending on geographic location.
You have no real property and want to discharge your debts. While Chapter 13 bankruptcy requires you to reorganize your debts and pay them off, Chapter 7 bankruptcy allows you to discharge debts completely. For that reason, bankruptcy attorney Barry J. Roy of Rabinowitz, Lubetkin & Tully LLC in Livingston, N.J., said Chapter 7 makes sense when you don’t have many assets but desire to discharge your unsecured debts.
Be punished for missed payments: Not all late payments are created equally. If you are fewer than 30 days late, your missed payment will likely not be reported to the bureau (although you still will be subject to late fees and potential risk-based re-pricing, which can be very expensive). Once you are 30 days late, you will be reported to the credit bureau. The longer you go without paying, the bigger the impact on your score, ie: 60 days late is worse than 30 days late. A single missed payment (of 30 days or more) can still have a big impact on your score. It can take anywhere from 60 to 110 points off your score.
If you are struggling to pay off multiple credit cards, consolidating your debt may allow you to reduce your interest rates and lower your monthly payment. However, a lower monthly payment can mean a longer repayment term and more interest paid over the life of the loan. Whether you should consolidate your credit card debt depends on your individual circumstances and the terms of the consolidation.

Hi , so I started out with a 421 in December 2014 , I had a foreclosure , no credit cards , horrible spending habits , collections etc. My foreclosure fell off my report and I went to 453 . I applied for a credit one unsecured card , high interest and annual fees but all I could get at the time (300 credit limit). Charged gas every month , maybe 50 and paid it right off .In March got a cl increase to 500. My credit went to a 479. Appied for a Capital one card w/ 300 cl. Got it , charged very little every month paid it off , in June got a credit increse to 700. Also got offered a platinum mastercard w/500 cl from Credit One . I also had my husband add me to his Capital One credit card w/ 1000 cl. As of July 15 my score is 556. Not ideal but every week I check with Credit Karma and my score is going up . It takes time but you have to be disciplined . My name added as a user on hubbys card and my new credit card has now shown up yet on my credit so Im hoping for a decent jump when it does . As far as old collections , I paid off a 1700 Fingerhut bill and it had no effect on my credit whatsoever , I really wish I hadnt paid it , it says paid but still shows as derogatory. Tommorow I am going to my bank and getting a 500 secured card . As you can see I started this quest in December 2014 when I decided it was time to take responsibility and do something and its been 8 months and my credit score has jumped about 135 points .

No one can legally remove accurate and timely negative information from a credit report. You can ask for an investigation —at no charge to you — of information in your file that you dispute as inaccurate or incomplete. Some people hire a company to investigate for them, but anything a credit repair company can do legally, you can do for yourself at little or no cost. By law:

Thrivent: Partnered with Thrivent Federal Credit Union, Thrivent Student Loan Resources offers variable rates starting at 4.13% APR and fixed rates starting at 3.99% APR. It is important to note that in order to qualify for refinancing through Thrivent, you must be a member of the Thrivent Federal Credit Union. If not already a member, borrowers can apply for membership during the student refinance application process.

If you don’t pay a medical bill or a cell phone bill, your account may be referred to a collection agency. Once it is with an agency, they can register that debt with the credit bureau, which can have a big negative impact on your score. Most negative information will stay on your credit bureau for 7 years. Positive information will stay on your credit bureau forever, so long as you keep the account open. If you close an account with positive information, then it will typically stay on your report for about 10 years, until that account completely disappears from your credit bureau and score. If you don’t use your credit card (and therefore no payment is due), your score will not improve. You have to use credit in order to get a good score.
Here is where it all comes together! Rapid rescoring can raise your credit scores quickly. Many of the tactics on this list are highly effective but can take 30 days or more to actually reflect in your credit score. But a consumer can utilize a Rapid Rescore in order to speed up that recalculation of their credit – and raise their score within just days or a week. With a Rapid Rescore, the credit bureaus simply recompute your score immediately, instead of at the next natural cycle date. Therefore, if you’ve paid down debt, added yourself as an authorized user, deleted collections, or added new positive tradelines, it will show up post haste. A Rapid Rescore is invaluable if you’re applying for a business loan, trying to get approved for a mortgage so you can make an offer on a house, or just trying to clean up your credit before a potential employer checks your report. However, you’ll want to enlist some help to take advantage of a Rapid Rescore, so contact Blue Water Credit if you’d like more information or help with any of these tactics!
Negative credit information is any action that causes creditors to consider you a riskier borrower. It includes late payments, accounts in collections, foreclosures, bankruptcy, and tax liens. Once negative credit information is introduced into your credit history, you cannot remove it on your own. However, time heals all wounds. The longer it’s been since the negative information was introduced, the less it will affect your credit score. In time, negative information falls off your credit history.